Clark Atlanta University
Private Research University in Atlanta, GA. Six-year graduation rate 49%. Median 10-year earnings $42,712.
Ten years after entry, the median Clark Atlanta University student earns $42,712 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 49%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Debt is the pressure point: a median of $27,000 at graduation. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 3.3% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.63 — elevated (above 0.60)
Admissions
Clark Atlanta University accepts 64% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. With 27,245 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield is low at 6%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Clark Atlanta University →Academics
49% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention is 71% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 17% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. A 16:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,482 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price — what students actually pay after grant aid — is $31,223 a year, at the high end of undergraduate cost. Net price varies modestly by income — $37,356 at $0–30k against $38,680 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 87% of students get grant aid averaging $14,652, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Borrowing is widespread: 80% take federal loans.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,065 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $37,356 |
| $30–48k | $39,270 |
| $48–75k | $39,009 |
| $75–110k | $39,514 |
| $110k+ | $38,680 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,802 of these 3,482 students, totalling $19,810,069 — an average of $7,070 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Fulton County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)